No formal negotiations are underway for a proposed joint venture with South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (SOCOTECO II), according to Ignite Power, the energy partnership between Enrique Razon Jr.'s Primelectric Holdings Inc. and Manny Pacquiao’s MP Holdings.

In a statement on Thursday, the company said any decision on the proposed partnership should be made by the cooperative’s roughly 300,000 member-consumer-owners (MCOs), rather than by its board alone.

“There are no negotiations at all, and the most that we heard from the board of directors of SOCOTECO II was an initial acceptance of the offer,” Ignite Power legal officer Atty. Allana Mae Babayen-on said. “Nothing has been accepted. Nothing has been negotiated.”

She said the company’s proposal includes seeking direct approval from the cooperative’s full membership.

“It’s not the board of directors, it’s not some of the members, it’s the total MCOs. So that’s the 300,000 MCOs that we wanted to ask to decide,” she added.

Under Presidential Decree No. 269, joint ventures involving electric cooperatives require approval from a qualified majority, or 50 percent plus one, of all active MCOs.